Before Rocky ever stepped into the ring, there was David and Goliath—the original underdog story.
The story of David and Goliath is the ultimate underdog tale: a young shepherd defeats a seemingly unbeatable giant—not through size or strength, but through courage, preparation, strategy, confidence, and a simple sling.
During a recent sermon on the subject, I couldn’t help thinking throughout the pastor’s impassioned homily about David’s courage, preparation, and focused determination, that his words applied equally well to the imposing challenges of facing either Goliath or today’s Digital Adaptive SAT. The prospect of facing either foe lies somewhere on the spectrum between imposing, formidable, daunting, and damn-near impossible.
But that’s not where the analogy ends. Like many people, I assumed David’s victory came mostly through divine intervention. What I hadn’t appreciated was how much preparation preceded that famous battle.
Turns out David DID have some special talents and skills that he chose to develop, and those skills empowered him to face and take down his mighty foe. David’s victory didn’t result from a sudden miracle granted to an unprepared person.
As the pastor told the story, David mustered tremendous courage even to face Goliath, what with his reputation for being huge, mighty, and unbeatable. He also developed tremendous skill with his sling. The pastor described David’s progression from practicing on easy targets to increasingly difficult ones. By the end of the sermon, I imagined he was knocking apples off the heads of soldiers sprinting by. David also planned his strategy well before the fight, leaving as little as possible to chance. Over time, these skills combined to bolster David’s confidence, completely transforming his initial fear such that when Goliath finally appeared… and there is Biblical evidence for this fact…
David didn’t reluctantly face Goliath.
He ran toward him.
Can you imagine feeling so prepared for the SAT that instead of dreading test day, you run toward it?
I’ve seen students do it! And more than one. Students who carve out the time, commit to a plan, and practice consistently develop the same kind of confidence David did.
In today’s ultra-competitive college admissions game, more and more students are setting rocket-high scoring goals and some of them, those who follow in David’s preparatory footsteps, succeed in achieving them. Depending on whether you’re trying to raise your score 50 points, 150 points, or 500 points, you may have to dedicate one month, two months, or even six months to a year of disciplined effort to achieve your goals. But the kind of scores that catch the attention of admissions officers are there for the taking if you commit to making like David! Every SAT administration, I see students achieve scores they once thought were out of reach, and they’re all Davids.
A quick word about the sling. David didn’t defeat Goliath with bare hands. He used tools with which he had extensively practiced.
SAT students have tools, too: the CollegeBoard Bluebook’s practice tests; Khan Academy’s videos and practice material; Desmos in Math (which is built right into today’s SAT interface, and top scoring students are BEASTS at using it); the highlighting tool in Reading & Writing (likewise top-scoring students tend to use it frequently); Quizlet to learn vocab, grammar rules, and math facts; and CollegePrepExpress’s Design Your own SAT Prep Classes that meet every Wednesday and Sunday night 6-8pm ET throughout the year. If you only need to raise your score 50 points, you can choose to come once a week for a month-ish; and if you need 400 points, you can come twice a week for almost three months if you’re targeting the August 22 SAT to help you stay focused and engaged in a steady practice routine.
Goliath looked unbeatable until David showed up prepared.
The SAT can feel the same way.
Build your skills. Practice consistently. Trust the process. Then, when test day arrives, don’t back away from the challenge.
Run toward it.
We’re here to help.